Anyone who's had the pleasure of watching pianist Stefano Bollani in concert—whether it's in duo with fellow Italian, trumpter Enrico Rava, at the 2009 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival; in the trumpeter's New York Days quintet at the ECM 40th Anniversary celebration, part of the 2010 Enjoy Jazz Festival; or in one of his own various contexts (solo, trio, large ensemble)—knows that, above all, joy is fundamental to the music he makes.
Sometimes it's blatantly obvious, as on his 2013 duo release with bandolim master Hamilton de Holanda, O Que Sera (ECM), where these two virtuosos could barely contain themselves and the fun they were having at this documented live performance literally leaps out of the speakers; other times it's more subtle, as the pianist demonstrated on his duo recording with Rava, The Third Man (ECM, 2008). But at a time when the world seems filled with strife and conflict, it needs music like Bollani's Joy In Spite of Everything, an album whose title not only says it all, but reflects the music contained within.
After his ECM leader debut, the encyclopedic Piano Solo (2007), the Puckish pianist reconvened his Danish trio of bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund—together, now, for more than a decade, having first recorded two albums for the Danish Stunt imprint (2003's Mi ritorni in mente and 2005's Gleda: Songs from Scandinavia)—for the superb Stone in the Water (ECM, 2009).
It's those same players that Bollani has recruited for the Euro side of the transatlantic group responsible for Joy in Spite of Everything, a recording brimming with joy, surprise, rapid-fire responses and, beyond the chemistry shared by Bollani, Bodilsen and Lund, the unabashed lightheartedness of the two American musicians the pianist has chosen to flesh out his quintet.
read more: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/stefano-bollani-joy-in-spite-of-everything-by-john-kelman.php#.U_sA9Uudp3g
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